Vehicle driving and steering mechanism



Sept. 2 1924.

J. J. WEIER VEHICLE DRIVING AND STEERING MECHANISM m E A INVENTOR.

14 TTZZ Patented Sept. 2, 1924.-

UNITED STATES- JOHN J'. WEIER OF BIRMINGHAM, MICHIGAN.

VEHICLE DRIVING AND STEERING MECHANISM.

Application filed. April 8,

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I JOHN J. Wmnn, a citizen of the United tates, and residing at Birminham, in the county of Oakland and .State 0 Michigan, have invented a new and Improved Vehicle Driving and Steering Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to driving mechanism for steering wheels of motor vehicles,

whether these wheels are at the front or rear of the vehicle, and the, object of this invention is to provide a driving and steering mechanism of this character with adjusting devices for th bearings, to provide a device of this character with novel lubricant retaining devices, andto provide a device of this character which shall have great strength and yet can be provided at moderate cost. I

This invention consists, in combination with a driving axle and its housing, a stubaxle and the gearin connecting the same to the driving axle, of a spindle connected to the main axle housing to swing on a vertical pivot, bearings for the stub-axle within the spindle, and means to secure a .wheel hub onto the stub-axle so that the hub will extend over that portion of the spindle which contains the bearings.

It also consists in a pair of metal rings and afibrous gasket between them located between the s lndle and hub to prevent the escape of In ricant. p

In the accompan ing drawing, Fig. 1 1s a plan of a .wheel hub and its supporting mechanism. Fig. 2 is a vertical central section thereof. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is an elevation of a hub cap.

Similar reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

The main axle 1 may be of any desired construction and may be rotated in any de-- sired manner. It is rotatable in a housing 2, a bearing bushing 3 being prov1ded if desired. The outer end 4 of the shaft is preferably tapered to fit an externally-toothed drivin member 5 which may be held in position iy a nut 6. A substantially hemispherical supporting head 7 is preferably formed integral with the housing 2.

A cup-shaped member consisting of a cylindrical portion 9 and a radial flange 10 is secured to the inner end of the stub-axle 11 which is formed with a flange 12 which may i922. Serial No. 550,707.

' be attached to the flange 10 by means of rivets 13. A ring of'internal teeth 14 may be secured within the cylindrical portion-9 by means of screws 15 and these teeth are preferably formed separately so'that they ma be easily replaced when broken. The teet of both sets are so formed that the permit the stub-axle to extend at an ang e to the main axle. The details thus far described are also found in my former Patent No. 1,260,495, dated March 26, 1918.

Extending around the head 7 is one end .of a supporting spindle for the stub-axle which consists of two cylindrical sleeves 16 and 17 and a radial flange 18 between them. Bushings 19 are mounted diametrically opposite each other in the'head 7 and they receive the reduced bearing .ends 20 of the screws 21 mounted in the sleeve 16 of the spindle which may be swung on these ends portions 23 and 24, a radial portion 25 connecting them, and a rigid flange 26 and a movable flange 27 which may be drawn against the spokes 28' by means of bolts 29' in the usual manner. A bearing bushin 30 on the stub-axle has a bevelled edge w ich bears on a similar surface 33 within the hub and this bushing is held in position by the bolts 34. A second bushin 35 is splined on the stub-axle and connecte to the end of the hub by the screws 36. The hub is therefore driven by the axle 11 through this splined bushing.

The stub-axle is rotatably sulppo'rted within the spindle and particular y within the sleeve 17 by means of roller bearings having inner bearing rings 38 and 38, outer bearing rings 39 and rollers 40. The bushing 30 bears against the bearing ring 38 and the hub may be forced inwardly by the nuts 42 and 43 on the end of the stub-axle 11 to adjustthe bearings. A hub cap 44 is preferably hexagonal to fit these nuts to keep them from turnin and its flange 45 may be secured in position by the same screws 36. A

bearings, in the great over-all length of the through the flange 49 of this cap and hold it closely against the head 7 To prevent lubricant escaping between the spindle and the part 23 of the hub, the spindle is shown formed with an external shoulder 51- to sup port a ring 52 forced onto the spindle, and the hub is formed with an internal shoulder 53 to support the ring 54 forced into the hub, and a packing gasket 55 of fibrous material is held between these rings and prevents the escape of the lubricant.

The advantages of the present construction reside in the small diameter of the roller support supplied by these bearings which results in great stiffness of the wheel, and in the practical means for preventing the es cape of the lubricant.

The details of construction and the proportions of the parts may all be changed by those, skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention as set forth in the following claims. Y

I claim 1. A steering and driving mechanism fo motor vehicles, comprising a driving shaft and a housing therefor, a head on the end of said hous1ng,a spindle pivotally connected to said housing and comprising a vcylindrical outer end, a pair of roller bearings mounted within the cylindrical endof the spindle, a stub-axle journaled in said bearings, a Wheel hub extending over the outer end of the stub-axle, a bushing secured Within the hub and slidable upon the stub-axle and adapted to engage one of said hearings to adjust said bearings, and means hub and stub-axle.

2. A steeringand driving mechanism for motor vehicles, comprising a driving shaft and a housing therefor, a head on the end of said housing, a spindle pivotally connected to said housing and comprising a cylindri cal outer end, a pair of roller bearings mounted within the cylindrical end of the spindle, a stub-axle journaled in'said bearings, a Wheel hub extending over the outer end of the stub-axle, a bushing secured within the hub and slidable upon the stub-axle and adapted to engage one ofsaid bearings to adjust said bearings, the outer end of the stub-axle being formed with longitudinal grooves and threads outside the grooves, a bushi g secured within the outer end of the hub d fitting the end of the stub-axle and in lSEg OVQS, and nuts on the threaded end of the axle to retain said hub.

3. A steering and driving mechanism'for motor vehicles, comprising a driving axle and a housing therefor, a head on said llOUS-' ing, a spindle pivotally connected to said housing to swing on a vertical axis, bearings within thespindle, a stub-axle journaled in said bearings, a wheel hub secured to the stub-axle gears operatively connecting the driving shaft and stub-axle, a metal ring fitting within said hub, a second ring fitting on said spindle, and a lubricant retaining gasket between the rings.

JOHN J. wnnzn. 

